The performance and capabilities of an aircraft are dependent on the health and performance of its engine(s). For example, an aircraft's take-off distance, rate of climb, useful load, range, and endurance are determined largely by engine health and engine power available. However, despite this importance, conventional aircraft instrumentation does not allow aircrew members to accurately monitor the health of an aircraft's engine(s) and determine engine power available during flight operations.
During mission planning, aircrew members attempt to evaluate an aircraft's performance and capabilities using engine power available calculations that are contained in an operating handbook or an electronic database, which at best are based on data periodically obtained from either one single flight condition or one single high power engine run. In between these specific time interval tests, however, deterioration of the aircraft's engine(s) occurs. Thus, aircrew members must rely on inaccurate engine power available calculations, which incorrectly assume an aircraft's engine(s) can deliver rated power when in fact the engine(s) cannot deliver rated power, to evaluate an aircraft's performance and capabilities. This conventional method of attempting to evaluate an aircraft's performance and capabilities results in a reduced margin of safety during flight operations.
The task of evaluating an aircraft's performance and capabilities is particularly challenging when, for example, during flight operations an aircrew is directed to change its mission. A change in mission during flight operations requires aircraft aircrew members to re-evaluate the performance and capabilities of the aircrew in real time while concurrently trying to navigate and operate the aircraft. This leads to increased cockpit work load and aircrew stress and may result in evaluation errors that when added to the inherent inaccuracies in engine power available calculations contained in the operating handbook or electronic database used by the aircrew can cause the aircrew to unknowingly operate the aircraft in an unsafe manner.
The inaccuracies in engine power available calculations are particularly critical, for example, when evaluating a rotary wing aircraft's performance and capabilities. For example, during lifting operations or in hot, high-altitude operating environments, inaccuracies in engine power available calculations used to determine take-off and landing performance create an unacceptable safety margin that can lead to the loss of the aircraft and the aircrew.
What is presently needed is smart instrumentation that permits aircrew members to monitor engine health and accurately determine engine power available during flight operations. What is also needed is a means for automatically updating and/or generating the charts and the mission management tools used by aircrew members so they accurately reflect the performance and capabilities of the aircraft. Having smart instrumentation and accurate charts and mission management tools would permit aircrew members to operate an aircraft with its intended margin of safety in any environment.